New Panem
by Ceruleanx
Summary: The war is over, and the Rebels won. A new Panem is forming, and The Hunger Games no longer exist. But for Katniss and the other Victors, the fight isn't over. They have to come to terms with a new reality while facing the demons of their past. And this is only the beginning.
1. Chapter 1

Forest surrounds me. My bow gleams too brightly in the sunlight, and it blinds me for a moment. Cato charges toward me from a distance with his sword. I reach back to grab an arrow, but find empty air. I look to my quiver, and it's empty. I drop my quiver and bow onto the ground, and reach for the knife in my belt. I feel nothing. I pat around my belt, and nothing's there.

Peeta expects me back! He doesn't even know I left.

I panic, looking around on the grass, but there's nothing that can be used as a weapon. I debate running toward the lake and dart to the right at the last second, and hopefully he'll charge into the lake and drown. But I immediately dismiss the idea. Most Careers can swim. And I don't think the lake is deep enough to drown anyway.

I run anyway. Toward the Cornucopia, further away from the forest where I so often seek refuge. I might be able to outrun Cato in a forest, assuming he's not as deft running through forest terrain as I am, but I can't lead him near Peeta. If he finds Peeta, he'll instantly be targeted.

I run past the Cornucopia, and my stomach lurches. I can see the high grain several hundred yards away. I feel hot just looking at it. The grain are barely taller than Thresh would be, and this would provide no protection from enemies or the sun. Also there's no telling what kind of creatures lurk there. But Thresh is enough of a threat of keeping me away from there, if I can help it. And I couldn't enlist Thresh as an ally to help kill Cato. I couldn't kill Thresh afterward, especially after Rue, but I think he'd have no problem killing me.

I curve my run. Cato isn't slowing down. I look behind me. I think he's speeding up.

Peeta needs me to come back. Peeta won't survive if I don't survive. And Peeta has to survive. I hold onto this belief as I curve away from Thresh's domain, and circle the Cornucopia. This isn't good. I'm not accomplishing anything. Why did I come out here again?

Without warning, and without my consent, my legs stop moving. I try to lift them or move them forward, but it's as if my feet are bolted down to the ground. I try to jump, but my legs just bend, and my feet stay in place. I look behind me. Cato's catching up quick.

I close my eyes, hoping my death is quick for Prim's sake, and pray Peeta's death is quick for his sake. With no medicine and nobody to aid his wounds, and such little sustenance, he won't last long.

No, Peeta has to survive. I won't accept any other outcome.

I hear Cato's stomps. He's no less than 20 yards from me. He'll be here any moment. My feet still won't move from this spot. Then an idea comes to me. I don't know if it'll work, and I can't test it out first, but I have to try.

Cato approaches, and as he's about to reach me, I lurch my body to the left with all my might. There's an awful crack as I fall, and Cato trips over my body, landing on the ground. His sword flies several feet away from him. He crawls off of me, and tries to get up but I land on top of him before he can make a move.

I start punching him, raw and painful for both of us. I know my fist position is wrong, my thumb is on the outside of my fist, so it's squished between my force and his face, but I don't care. The punches are warm and wet, and I don't stop. The contact makes me feel powerful. I can protect Peeta. I can protect myself. I will not die by a Career's hand.

Cato spits out blood, and his nose is disfigured and bleeding. He then looks confused, which makes me confused.

"Katniss, what are you doing?"

That's not Cato's voice. It's too soft, too gentle.

"Katniss, wake up!"

I'm now being shaken by an invisible force.

"Katniss! Katniss!"

My eyes open. I'm sitting on top of Peeta, and his face is covered in bruises and his nose and mouth is dripping blood.

"W-what?" I ask. I look around. I'm not in the arena. I'm in my house, in the Victor's village. And for some reason, Peeta's in my bed.

Then the sleepy confusion lifts away, and I remember. The war is over. Snow is dead. Peeta is safe. And hundreds of people are dead because of me.

I get off of Peeta, and sit on the empty side of the bed. I pull my knees up and wrap my arms around them. I feel like a monster as Peeta's blood drips from my hands.

"My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am 23 years old. District 12 is my home. I was in the Hunger Games-" I start. Peeta wraps his arms around me, but I barely register them.

"Your scent reminds me of the arena too." I say.

He pulls away, but I grab his arm.

"No. Don't. Don't leave me." I say.

"Never." He wraps me tighter, and kisses my temple.

We sit there in silence, and I watch as the sun slowly rises.

What I don't tell him is everything reminds me of the arena these days.

Peeta doesn't leave the bed until I do. And I do it because Peeta needs medical attention. Ideally, I would have tended to these right away, but I couldn't find the strength to get up. The bleeding doesn't seem too bad, but I can't tell whether or not the wounds are still bleeding. There isn't enough blood to be overly concerned though, and Peeta doesn't push it, so I stay in bed. Admittedly, I find the resolve to get up when my stomach rumbles loudly, and Peeta offers to make breakfast.

"We need to clean your wounds first." I say.

Peeta and I break apart and we stand up. I follow him into the bathroom. I take the disinfectant wipes and cotton bandages out of the cabinet as Peeta sits on the closed toilet lid. I open the disinfectant wipes and gently begin to dab his nose. Peeta tries hard to hide his grimace. I try to be as gentle as I can, but nothing will take take away the sting. And now Peeta's starting to get the wild look in his eyes, which means he may start to have a flashback to his hijacking/torture. A stone sinks at the pit of my stomach. I need to distract him.

"I'm sorry." I say, but the words are barely audible. The words are caught in my throat. All those years of protecting Peeta, and I'm the one to hurt him.

"Don't be sorry." He says.

Peeta concentrates on my face as I continue to clean his nose in silence, and then I examine the wound. His nose arches out to the right. But it looks like a clean dislocation, which means it should be easy to put back into place with minimum chance of complication.

"Good news-" I clear my throat and try again, but it comes out quiet, "It's not as bad as it looks."

"That is good news." He says.

"It's dislocated though, so it should be reset-" I say.

Before I can register anything, Peeta quickly puts his hands to his nose and pushes it to the left.

"Peeta, what are you doing?!" I ask, and move his hands away from his face. I examine his nose. It's back in place.

Before I can open my mouth, Peeta shrugs and says, "This isn't my first dislocated nose, Katniss. I had two older brothers, remember?"

I try to remember his brothers, but honestly I can't recall much. One of them, I think it was the middle one, was as tall as Peeta's father, who was pretty tall, and the other one was… the other one. If I'm going to be completely honest, I'm not even sure if I remember their names. And Peeta never talks about them, so I don't want to ask.

"Yeah." I give what I hope is a comforting smile. But Peeta doesn't seem upset, so I continue cleaning his wounds, hoping the pain will distract him.

I clean his lip, and his cheeks. His lip is busted open, and there's a large gash on his cheek, as well as his nose.

"You'll need stitches." I say.

"Then stitch away." He says.

"I'm really not a healer." I say.

"Stop saying that. If that were true, people wouldn't come to you for medical treatment." He replies.

"They only come to me because I'm cheap." I say.

"They come to you because you're good. You have healer's blood-" I can tell the look on Peeta's face that he wanted to take it back as soon as it left his lips.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up so I can stitch you up." I say as I disinfect the needle, and stitch up his wounds. I gentle brush his lips with mine after which, despite the pain, he enthusiastically returns. Then I remember his wounds are vulnerable, so I wipe them with alcohol again. Peeta doesn't mind.

I gather up the bloody wipes from the counter, and Peeta stands up. He exits the bathroom, and I follow him. He makes his way down the hall and down the stairs to the kitchen. I dump the garbage in the trash and then disinfect my hands in the sink. I try not to look at the bloody water circling the drain. Buttercup mews, and Peeta pets him with a friendly good morning. Buttercup's sitting on the kitchen table, and I sit next to him. I lazily rub the top of his head, and he rests his head on the table and purs. Peeta's gone to the fridge, pulling out the eggs and bacon. Peeta then brings out the apple and goat cheese tarts he made yesterday, and sets them on the kitchen table. I take one, and start eating. The cheese is soft and salty, and the apple is crisp.

"I was thinking of getting a goat." I say, as I take another bite.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Peeta asks. The bacon sizzles on the frying pan.

"I don't want a goat. I don't know why I said that." I shoved the rest of the tart into my mouth.

"You want a goat, don't you?" He asks mischievously.

"No." I say through a full mouth.

"You want one for her, don't you?" He says.

"Yeah." I swallow, "But cheese is very profitable, and those kids need the money."

"Then get a goat, and throw away the milk." Peeta says, as if this was nothing. He flips the bacon over on the frying pan. Merchant privilege.

I give him a look, but he already realized his mistake.

"I didn't mean that," He said, "I absolutely did not mean that."

"You'll just have to make more tarts." I say, taking another tart off the plate, "Haymitch likes them anyway."

"Duly noted." He agrees, as he cracks eggs on to the pan.

I stand up and walk over to the stove. I grab an egg out of the bowl and gently break the top against the counter. I flake away the shell, and start drinking the inside.

"I still don't know how you can eat raw egg." He says, as he flips his egg.

"I like them this way." I say.

"If you say so." He says, and cuts a slice of a bread loaf that's sitting on the counter. Two plates with bacon on it sit on the counter.

"Did you want bread with breakfast, Katniss?" He asks.

"No thank you." I say.

Peeta nibbles on his bread as he puts his egg onto his plate. He picks up our plates, and carries them to the kitchen table.

I sit down next to him, and watch him as he spreads marmalade onto his bread.

"What?" He asks.

"Nothing." A surge of guilt rushes through me, "I just don't know what we're gonna tell people about your face."

"If you're that worried, I just won't leave the Village until my wounds have healed a bit. It's no big deal." He says, "I have a cake order for the mayor to fill anyway."

But it is a big deal. It's absolutely a big deal. I hurt Peeta. And no matter how much he says it's ok, it's not.

"Ok." That's the only response I can get out.

Although he doesn't say it, I can tell Peeta's having difficulty eating. The salt and fat from the bacon are irritating his wounds. He slowly feeds the rest of his bacon to Buttercup, probably hoping I won't notice. But I do.

I focus on my plate, not daring to look at him.

"I think I'll visit Haymitch after breakfast." I say.

"That'd be good. You haven't seen him in a while." Peeta says.

"Yeah." I give up on conversation. Peeta doesn't push it.

After we're finished eating, I clear the table and do the dishes. Peeta leaves the room, and I'm grateful to be alone.

The war is over. Snow is dead. Peeta is safe. These are the words I keep comforting myself with. And while I'm glad these words are in fact true, for some reason I don't understand, I can't relax. I continue to live my life every day in fear that something bad is going to happen that will take this new life away from me.

But the Games never really end. Haymitch has been trying to tell me this since I won my first Games. Look at him. It's been over 30 years since his Games, and he still lives in the arena. Just like I do.

I didn't plan on visiting Haymitch, but maybe I will.

I finish up the dishes, and leave them on the rack to dry. I leave the kitchen and head straight for the front door. I'm still in my pajamas, but neither Haymitch nor I care about trivial matters like that.

I put my bare feet into my shoes and exit the front door. I walk across the street and down two houses where Haymitch lives.

The house is spotless. Haymitch retained Hazel as his housekeeper, who moved back to 12 with all the kids except for Gale after the war ended. Gale remains in 2. Although Hazel and I don't talk about it, I know he doesn't visit or call her. He sends money, but that's the extent of their relationship. And this makes me just as angry at him as I am for what happened to Prim.

But I can't say I'm shocked. Didn't he say all those years ago, back in the woods, when the Games were still on and we all feared certain death, that once his siblings were grown, he'd flee with me into the woods? Wasn't that already a proclamation that he was prepared to abandon his family?

I don't think Hazel is aware that Gale had these thoughts though, and I won't dare breach the topic. I care for Hazel and her children just as much as I did my own family. And Gale has caused them enough pain.

I enter the door, which is almost always unlocked. Nobody here would dare rob Haymitch, as they know if they'll get a knife to the chest if they try. Plus Haymitch has almost nothing worth stealing anyway. Haymitch isn't one for frivolous expensive trinkets.

The house is identical to mine in every way, except for the decor. Hazel is humming in the kitchen, making some kind of stew. Haymitch is snoring loudly, passed out drunk, in the living room with the tv on. I go into the kitchen, where Hazel greets me with a warm smile. She puts on the kettle, and then sits with me at the table.

"How is it going? I haven't seen you in a while." Hazel says.

"Good." I say. My response is too quick, too curt. She knows it's a lie. But she doesn't ask. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Rory's got a job at a construction site. They're building more houses in the Seam." She says.

The Seam. Where my old house used to be.

"That's… good." I say. I start picking at my fingernails.

"Oh my, what's happened to your hand?!" She asks.

My eyes trail to my hands. I haven't actually looked at my right hand. My knuckles are busted up and a little bloody, and swollen in spots. My thumb is disfigured, probably broken.

"I… had an accident." I say lamely.

"Katniss, what happened?" Her voice is gentle, yet firm. A mother's voice.

"I… accidentally… punched-" I can't get out his name and then mutter, "in the face."

Her face softens, and she takes my non-injured hand.

"Oh honey." She says.

"I didn't mean to. I had a- I had a-" I can't finish the sentence, but I don't need to.

Hazel squeezes my hand reassuringly, and then stands up and leaves the room. The kettle is whistling. I get up and turn off the element, and then I pour the water into the mugs with my good hand.

She returns with the first aid kit. I watch mechanically as she takes out the rubbing alcohol and cleans the wounds. Then she wraps it up in cotton.

"That's as much as I can do." She grins almost apologetically.

"Thanks." I say.

"I know he doesn't blame you. These things happen." She says.

"Yeah." I say.

The phone rings, and Hazel gets it. I start picking my fingernails again, wanting Hazel to pay attention to me again.

"I'm sorry, he's out right now. But you may speak to Katniss Everdeen, if you'd like." My eyes flicker up, and she's looking at me. She motions to the phone. I get up, wondering who would be ok talking to me if they had called Haymitch's number.

I take the phone from Hazel, and put it to my ear.

"Katniss Everdeen." I greet.

"Hello, Ms. Everdeen." The man's voice is deep and serious, definitely belongs to the Capitol. "I'm calling to inform you the Victors of the former Hunger Games are invited to the Capitol for a special event in 2 days."

My first instinct it to decline, but I know this invite is not optional.

"What kind of event is it?" I ask.

"Give the message to Haymitch." Dial tone.

I hang up.

"What did they want?" Hazel asks.

Whatever they want, it can't be good.


	2. Chapter 2

Hazel follows me to where Haymitch is asleep on the couch in the living room. I pick up the cup of water that's sitting on the coffee table, and reach to take the knife away from Haymitch's grip when Hazel stops me.

"That's not necessary." She says, and she kneels down to his level and gently shakes his shoulder.

"Haymitch." She sing-speaks softly, as I've seen her do with her children dozens of times.

He awakens, and looks at her. The knife is in his hand, but he doesn't swipe at her, like he's done to me many times before.

"What?" He asks. His voice is soft, groggy. I've never seen him like this before.

"Katniss took a call from the Capitol for you." She replies in a low soothing voice.

He looks at me.

"What?" He asks.

"All the Victors have been invited to the Capitol for some event." I say.

He sits up.

"What kind of event?" He asks.

"They didn't say."

He puts his finger and thumb to his closed eyes.

"Then we're going to the Capitol. When?" He says.

"Two days from now." I say.

"We'll have to leave today. Does Peeta know?" He asks.

"I don't know." I say.

"Go get him, and get ready. Be ready by 3." He says.

I give Hazel a quick hug, and then go back to my house. Peeta's there. He's packing his suitcase in his bedroom, and across the hall through my open bedroom door, an empty suitcase is on my bed.

"You heard?" He asks.

I nod.

"I was kind of hoping I wouldn't have to go back to the Capitol. Ever." Peeta says apprehensively.

"Me too." I say.

Peeta and I were going to lie low until his face healed, and now we're going to the Capitol. We're famous as both Victors and Rebels. We're definitely going to be televised. And I don't want to even think about how Haymitch will react when he sees Peeta's condition. Or worse, Effie Trinket's reaction.

"What will we tell people about your face?" I ask.

"We'll think of something. Maybe we can say I was attacked by a bear." He grins, but this only makes me more upset.

He opens his arms, and I walk into them. I hug him closely, and squeeze him harder than necessary, but he doesn't complain. He kisses me, and I kiss him back.

"A bear might work." I say.

He chuckles, and kisses my forehead.

"Haymitch wants us ready to leave by 3." I say.

I break the hug, and go to my bedroom to pack my clothes. I don't really pay attention to what I pack. Just throw some clothes in. Done.

I carry my suitcase out of the bedroom, and down the stairs to the door. I go back upstairs and lay on Peeta's bed, watching him as he packs.

"You're done?" He asks.

I shrug as I pick at a loose thread on his blanket.

"We don't know what the weather will be like. What if it's hot, or cold? Did you at least pack a nice dress in case we need to go somewhere?" He asks.

"They'll probably have something for me to wear." I say.

But Peeta's probably right. I should pack something formal to wear just in case.

I leave Peeta's bedroom, and go to my mother's former room. The precious clothes Cinna made me that survived the war remain in here, where they're safe from harm. If Cinna was here, I could leave my trip's wardrobe to him. He loved clothes, and he always made me unforgettably beautiful. But those days are long gone.

I look at the dresses, and feel the different materials along my skin. Cinna's presence permeates the room. I expect him to come walking in through that doorway, ready to dress me. But he doesn't. And I'm scared to take any of Cinna's clothes into the Capitol in case someone decides to take it away from me. I can't bear the thought of being separated from my final connection to Cinna, and I'll treasure these clothes for the rest of my life.

But I don't have any other formal evening dresses, and probably won't have time to buy one in the Capitol. Well, I have some of my mother's nice dresses from her merchant days, but those are drab by Capitol standard. I sigh, and rub a silky black dress against my cheek. I can still faintly smell him on these clothes, and it brings tears to my eyes.

I don't know which dress to choose. They're all so beautiful. I might have stood there forever if Peeta didn't come into the room to check on me. Without looking at him, I pick a dark blue one with tiny diamonds embedded in it and lacy intricate sleeves. I retrieve the matching dark blue shoes on the ground, and I follow Peeta back to his room, where he gently packs the dress and shoes into his case. I then lay on the bed and watch him zip up his suitcase.

"It'll be ok, Katniss." He says.

"Yeah." I say.

"We'll get to see the other Victors…. Beetee, Annie, Joha-..." He stops, "Well, you'll get to see Beetee and Annie anyway."

"I don't know if they'd invite Annie." I say. Even now, the Capitol pretends Annie Odair doesn't exist because she's the epitome of everything that's wrong with their Games. And I kinda hope they don't invite her. It'd make me too sad to see her, and her son Finn who reminds me so much of his father.

"Well, I guess we'll see." He says, and finishes packing.

I carry Peeta's suitcase downstairs, and he follows me. I place it next to mine near the front door, and we go to sit in the living room on the couch.

"What do you want for lunch?" I ask.

"Anything is fine." Peeta says.

Since I'll be the one making lunch, I decide on sandwiches. I get up, and make ham, cheese, lettuce, and mustard sandwiches for us. I return to the couch and Peeta takes his. I leave the plate on the coffee table.

"This is the best sandwich I've ever had." He said.

"Yeah right." I say.

"No, really. It is." He says and takes another bite.

After lunch is finished, I scooch closer to him, and kick my legs up next to me. I rest my head on his shoulder, and he wraps his arm around my shoulder. We sit in silence. And I listen to his heart beat in his chest.

A sense of dread washes over me. I feel just like I did when I was being carted off to the Capitol on the train for my first Games. I have a feeling this trip isn't a social visit, and something bad is waiting to us. The thought of visiting the Capitol is stressful enough, but something feels wrong here. I wonder if Peeta's feeling it too.

"Peeta, are you going to be okay?" I ask.

As much as I hate the idea of going to the Capitol, it'll be nothing compared to Peeta returning to the Capitol. It was a war zone for me, but it was a prison for him. And although all his tormentors were executed after the war, nothing will change that fact.

"I'm fine, Katniss." He says.

He's clearly not fine. Although his body's steady, he's slightly pale. His eyes are dilating. He's trying to hide his fear. I lean over and kiss his cheek, which takes him off guard, and it almost seems like he's unsure of where he is. But then he leans over and kisses my lips. I kiss back. The warmth and intensity of our kiss soothes me.

I don't know what these kisses mean to me. Although I hate to admit it, even to myself, Peeta loves me, and has for almost 20 years. And I feel something for him, although I don't know what it is exactly. 6 years have passed since the end of the war, and I still don't want to ask. I don't think there's a word to accurately label what I have with Peeta. All I know is that I don't want the kisses to stop.

There's a knock on the door, and we jump. Peeta and I look at each other, and then I get up to answer the door. It takes several seconds for me to figure out who I'm looking at. I don't recognize her with her dark blue off-shoulder shirt with ruffles and black skirt, or her semi-short natural blond hair, or even more surprising, the fact she wears glasses with black frames that nicely shape her face.

"Effie?" I ask, but I'm sure I have the wrong person.

"Hello, Katniss." She says, although she doesn't have her usual perk. In fact, she's somber.

"What happened?" I ask, giving her another once over.

"Capitol trends have vastly changed since your last visit." She says, "I take it you don't watch much television? Chic is in."

"Hello Effie." Peeta says politely behind me.

"Hello Peeta." She gives him a small smile, "You're going to be on camera when you arrive at the Capitol. I don't know what we're going to do about your face."

The old Effie would have treated this as a national crisis. Now she barely looks fazed.

"Why did they send you out here to get us?" I ask, as I bring out the suitcases, and Peeta locks the door behind me.

"They figured you'd need an escort. And a familiar face is always comforting." She explains, opening her arms for a hug. I oblige, but it doesn't have the same warmth it once did. Then she embraces Peeta, who kisses her cheek, a common District 12 gesture.

Peeta takes his suitcase from me. We start walking, but I find myself walking much slower than I usually do. As if walking slower can impede this trip. Peeta and Effie match their pace with mine. We walk toward the launchpad at the end of the Victor's Village, where a small plane is waiting for us. I idly wonder if this slow pace is putting us behind schedule, even if by mere seconds, and if Effie cares at all anymore.

Haymitch is waiting in front of his house for us. When he sees Peeta, he makes a disgruntled expression.

"What happened to you, boy?" He asks.

"A bear attack." Peeta says casually.

Haymitch looks at me, and then back to Peeta. Effie looks at me as well.

"A bear, huh?" Haymitch says, but doesn't comment further.

Haymitch turns and starts walking to the launchpad. We follow him.

"Effie?" I ask.

"Yes, Katniss?" She asks.

"What's this trip for?" I ask.

"I don't know. They didn't tell me." Effie replies.

I don't know if it's because I've been a pawn in someone else's games for too long, or lied to too many times, but for some reason, I don't believe that Effie's telling me the truth.

We reach the launchpad. We give our luggage to some attendants wearing white shirts and black pants. Haymitch gets onto the plane first. Then me. Then Peeta. And finally, Effie. The attendants follow us up.

On this plane, there are a few tables with 4 seats instead of regular seats. Peeta and I take seats across from each other, and then Effie and Haymitch take a table near the front on the other side of the plane, far away from us. I can see them whispering to each other, looking serious, and I feel nauseated.

"They're hiding something from us." Peeta mutters quietly, so we can't be overheard.

So Peeta sensed it too.

"What are we going to do?" I whisper back.

"What can we do but go along with whatever's happening?" He says.

The attendant tells us to put on our seat belts, and we do. Haymitch and Effie are still talking. I glare at them, but if Haymitch can feel my eyes burning into the back of his head, he ignores me. I clench my hand into a fist hard enough to draw blood, and fight the urge to yell at them, to let me and Peeta in on whatever's happening. That we've been lied to enough, and secrets don't keep us safe. In fact, secrets can be very dangerous, and they aren't doing us any favours.

"Just think about the food we'll get to eat in the Capitol." Peeta says, and my attention goes back to him, "It probably won't be as grand as it was before, but it'll still be good."

My mouth waters, thinking about the food.

"Great, Peeta, you're making me hungry." I say.

After the wheels are up in the air, Peeta and I undo our seatbelts when we're allowed to, and get more comfortable in our chairs. There's a deck of cards sitting off to the side, and Peeta opens it and deals us a round. I pick up my cards, and we begin to play. After a few rounds, I get bored, and Peeta asks the attendant if they have paper and pencils. The attendant goes and retrieves a pile of paper, pencils and a pack of coloured pencils. I brush off the attendant's inquiries if I need anything to entertain myself with. I rest my folded arms on the table, and place my head in my arms, watching Peeta begin his sketch. It's hard to tell at this point, but I think he's going to draw a flower.

I glance over at Effie, who looks tired. Examining once again how much her style has changed, I have to wonder. What else has changed in the Capitol? Honestly, until I saw Effie, I never gave it much thought. I never planned to return, so what did it matter what was happening in the Capitol?

I look back at Peeta, carefully yet masterfully finishing the final details of the flower he drew. Then he begins to draw what I can guess is going to be another flower. I watch his hands as they work, and then I look up. He's in such deep concentration.

An image pops into my head. A much younger Peeta, 10 years old maybe. I'm standing in his parents' bakery with my father, and he's behind the counter, carefully icing a beautiful two tiered cake. Our fathers are conducting a trade.

"Here." A voice says warmly, and I tear my eyes away from Peeta's cake. Peeta's father is offering me a baked good. It takes me a second to remember the word for it. Cookie. There's oatmeal in it and some kind of brown morsels in it that I don't recognize. I've never had one. I've heard they were sweet. I look over at my dad apprehensively.

"Go on Katniss, take it." My father encourages.

I reach out and take it from Peeta's father. I smell it, and my mouth instantly waters. It smells like oats, but it also smells sweet and inviting. I take a bite, and it takes everything I have not to shove the rest of it into my mouth. It's soft and warm and just as sweet as it promised. The brown chunks are still melted from the fire, and I've never tasted anything so delicious in my life. I offer it to my father, and he takes a small bite.

"My son, Peeta, made those." His father says.

"Peeta did an amazing job." My dad praises.

Amazing doesn't begin to explain this taste. Peeta blushes from behind the counter.

"Thank you, sir." He says.

"Katniss, we have to get going." My father says.

"Thank you for the cookie." I say.

My words feel inadequate. I don't know enough words to explain how I feel. There's no way my father could have traded the baker for anything worth this cookie. I know the baker's wife isn't nice, and she'd be very mad if she knew the baker gave away a cookie in a trade.

The baker gives me a warm smile.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." He says.

My dad nods and thanks the baker again, and we leave. I really want another bite of the cookie, but if I start now, I may not be able to stop, and I want to share it with Prim and Mom when we get back home.

It wasn't long after that incident that my father died.

My attention is brought back to Peeta when he passes me the image he drew.

"What's this?" I ask.

"You can colour it if you want." He says.

I examine the drawing. It's a flower garden, with tulips, bluebells, and daffodils, and other beautiful flowers that I have no name for. It always amazes me how accurately Peeta can draw from memory.

I take the picture, and place it in front of me. I've never coloured anything in my life. I've only watched Peeta, and I'd hate it if I messed up his beautiful picture. But he's given me this, so I pick up a red coloured pencil from the box, and slowly start colouring a tulip, trying hard to stay inside the lines. I mess up on the third stroke.

"Oops." I say.

He grins.

"Colouring is hard. You'll get it." He says.

I relax a bit and go back to colouring, and he starts sketching another picture.

To my surprise, we are told to put our seatbelts on, as we're making a stop in District 7. This means exactly what I think it does, and I'm rewarded with seeing Johanna enter the plane, followed by an attendant carrying her luggage. She sits next to Peeta.

"Hey Peeta, Katniss." She nods.

"Hello Johanna." Peeta greets.

"Hi." I say.

"Hey Haymitch, Effie." She calls loudly from across the plane.

The other two greet her back, but they barely look up before they resume their conversation.

"What's up with them?" Johanna asks us.

"We don't know." Peeta replies.

"What are you drawing?" She asks, looking over Peeta's shoulder.

I look over at what Peeta's drawing, and then I wish I hadn't.

The drawing looks like a mutation between a reptile and a human being. And that's exactly what it is. A muttation with a human-like torso with a long tail and reptile limbs that can stand on its hind legs. The creatures that hunted us, hissing my name, designed to kill me and whoever else got in their way in the process, in the underground system of the Capitol during the war.

"It's a Capitol mutt." Peeta answers vaguely.

"Ah." Johanna says.

I continue colouring, but my hands are shaking, and I'm going way out of the lines. I put down the coloured pencil, and push the picture to the side. Johanna continues to watch Peeta draw, and I stare out the window, my mind trying to stay out of those underground tunnels. But I can't help but think of everyone we lost in those tunnels. And those mutts turning Peeta mutt. And I hate Peeta's talent for bringing the horrors back to life with his art.

When dinner time arrives, food is brought out on carts. They have the lamb stew with plums on wild rice. I'm hesitant seeing it, and I take a duck dish with greens on the side instead, and a creamy pasta dish. Peeta raises his eyebrow, and he takes the tiny chicken with orange liquid that squirts out with a side salad, and a tomato based soup. Johanna takes the lamb stew, and a plate of various fruit and cheeses. Peeta and I decline the offer of alcohol, but Johanna takes a beer. I start on my duck dish, and Peeta starts with his soup. Johanna takes a bite out of cheese.

"Feels like the old days, doesn't it?" Johanna asks, and gives a nasty laugh.

Yes, yes it does.

After dinner, we put on our seatbelts and descend into District 2. I was right about the Capitol not inviting Annie.

"But what about Beetee?" Peeta asks.

"Beetee's currently in the Capitol doing computer work of some kind." Johanna said, "He pretty much lives in the Capitol now."

"Who lives in District 2 that we could be stopping for?" I ask, and then my heart stops. Gale. Peeta sees the look at panic in my eyes, and he's obviously guessing what I'm thinking because I can see my own pain reflected back from his eyes, although his is more subdued. But then we get our answer.

Enobaria boards the plane with an attendant carrying her luggage, and she takes a seat alone as far away from the rest of us as possible.

"As friendly as ever." Johanna mutters and then calls out, "Hurry up and lift this thing so I can have dessert."

The plane ascends into the air again. When movement is safe again, the dinner tray comes out for Enobaria, and the dessert tray is brought out for the rest of us. Peeta takes an individual sized cherry pie, I take a slice of cheesecake with red syrup drizzled on it and a chocolate chip cookie, and Johanna takes a brownie and a cherry pie as well. We're also served tea or chocolate.

I take a bite out of the cookie, and then I instantly regret it. Although I'm sure it tastes as magnificent as ever, it's like lead in my mouth. Looking at this cookie, and seeing Peeta don't mix well together. Being reminded of a memory that was long-forgotten, even though it was probably the only time I had a cookie in my life before being reaped for the Games. Maybe I forgot about the memory because my dad died so soon after that, and any memory around that time became obsolete.

And my father didn't trade for that cookie. That cookie was a gift. Peeta's father was kind, but that was a very extravagant gift, even for him on his worst trade. But he said Peeta made those cookies. My stomach lurches at the thought. Peeta says he fell in love with me at 5 years old. Did he ask his father to give me that cookie and pay for it somehow?

"Katniss?"

I come back to awareness, and I find myself frozen, holding the cookie, staring at Peeta.

"Katniss?" He asks again, "Hello? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." But my words are mumbled. I didn't swallow the cookie, so it turned to mush in my mouth. I pick up my water, and wash it down. Then I put the cookie on Peeta's plate. Johanna has her eyebrow raised, but neither of them say anything.

"Did you want to play a card game?" Peeta asks me.

No.

"Sure." I say.

Peeta picks up the deck beside him, takes them out of the pack, and begins to shuffle.

I started to owe Peeta Mellark before I even knew it.


	3. Chapter 3

When I think we're getting closer to the Capitol, I stop playing, and Johanna and Peeta start playing a different game with a lot of complex rules that I can't be bothered to learn. I stare out the window instead. It's already dark outside, and I can't see the Capitol in sight. But the plane starts to descend.

"Haymitch?" I call.

"What?" He slurs.

"Why are we descending?" I ask.

"We're at the Capitol, sweetheart." He calls back in a mocking tone.

"No we aren't. There's no light anywhere." I call.

"Look harder." He says.

I squint out the window. It's difficult, but as we get closer to the ground, I can see little flecks of light from random spots. And soon enough, I can start to make out the old Training Center, even in the darkness. We pass it for the airport that's nearby, and the runway is the only place that's dimly lit. I can barely see anything out the window. It's barely evening in terms of the Capitol; why is there no light? It reminds me of District 12, when we rarely had running electricity.

What's happening in the Capitol?

The plane lands, and we are met by security with flashlights, as well as a few people in uniforms who take our luggage from the flight attendants. The security team leads us to another open area that contains cars, and we're ushered into one car, while the attendants carrying our luggage are put into the second car. I make sure to take the window seat next to Peeta, and I resist the urge to hold his hand. The drive is silent, which is okay with me. I look out the window as we drive by the streets, but I can barely see my reflection, let alone through the window. There's hardly any light in any of the buildings we pass. There are very few people outside, and I can barely make them out in the infrequent light. They look drab by Capitol standards. They almost look like they could be from 12.

It was hard to tell where we were going before, but now I can tell we're driven to the old Training Center. I was hoping this wouldn't be the place where we were taken. But of course it is.

"I thought everything that had to do with the Hunger Games was destroyed after the revolution?" Johanna asks.

"They were. But while the Games were still being held, the Training Center was designated a historical site. This means that it's not allowed to be torn down or altered." Effie explains, "But the Training Center was turned into a memorial to honour the tributes."

"Why are we staying here then?" Johanna asks.

"That, I'm not sure." Effie says, "Maybe they wanted you to feel comfortable during your stay."

By having us stay in the building where we spent our last days with the knowledge that we were going to die for entertainment? Yes, that sounds cozy.

The lights are also out in the Training Center. We're greeted by a worker in a clean suit holding a flashlight. The attendants stay with us, holding onto our luggage.

"Good evening." The worker says. If he sees how confused we are, he ignores it. "I'm here to escort you to your rooms. You'll have to take the stairs though."

Everyone follows him inside. My stomach lurches. The man is the only one with a flashlight, and I have trouble seeing anything beyond the flashlight's range. The Training Center looks completely different in the darkness. We seem to be in an endless void that threatens to envelop us.

I look at Haymitch, and even he seems slightly baffled. For some reason, Effie Trinket is still with us.

"I'm your escort, remember?" She says, "It's my job to take care of you."

Somehow this dreary downtrodden Effie is more unbearable than the perky one that was happy to send us off to our slaughter.

The man leads us to a stairwell in the corner. I've never noticed this door before, but we always took the elevator during our stay here. We enter the stairwell, and it's small and cramped and the light bounces off the walls, creating shadows, further enhancing my claustrophobia. Peeta subtly reaches for my hand, but I ignore him. I don't see anyone else needing emotional support, so I won't ask Peeta for it. The man starts walking up the stairs, and we follow him.

The only sound is the suitcases echoing in the hallway being carried by our attendants. I realize the attendants haven't said a word. Does the Capitol still enslave Avoxes?

We walk up many flights of stairs without conversation and the man opens the door with a key on a key ring.

"It's funny. When this stairwell was made, we originally only had cards that could tap and unlock the door." The man says and chuckles to himself, "And someone suggested we make metal keys as well. Everyone thought that guy was crazy, because why would we need physical keys if we had cards to tap? Cards are so much more convenient. He installed keys anyway though, and got fired for it. But I guess he was onto something though, huh?"

Nobody laughs, but the man is laughing as if this was actually a funny story. Capitol humour.

"Now," He continues, chuckling to himself, failing to notice that nobody else thought he was funny, "Traditionally, only District 2 Tributes and their escort and mentors stay here, but because I don't want to walk up dozens of flights of stairs tonight, I'll allow you to sleep on the lower District levels. Alright?"

 _He_ doesn't want to walk up dozens of flights of stairs. Implying if he didn't have to walk up the flights of stairs himself, he'd force us to. Capitol people.

"That's fine." Effie says, before the silence gets too long.

The man smiles, "So, Enobaria and Johanna, you two can share the District 2 floor." The man says.

"Fuck that." Johanna says so fast he barely finished his sentence.

"I'm with 7. No." Enobaria says. Her sharp teeth glistens in his flashlight.

"Okay then," The man says, spooked, "Enobaria, you may have the District 2 floor to yourself. Due to the electricity being out, all the doors within the suite are unlocked."

Enobaria enters into the District 2 suite without another word, and the attendant carries her bag brings it into her suite, and then walks back into the hallway. The man closes the door. I hear a click, indicating the door locks automatically.

"If we're staying on the District 2 and 3 floors, who's occupying District 1's floor?" Johanna asks.

"Beetee." The man says.

"I thought he lived in the Capitol. Why would he stay here?" Effie asks.

"If the Victors are needed, they'll want to gather everyone as soon as possible. So Beetee is to live here until further notice, as will the rest of you." The man explains, "Let's continue on."

We walk up the next flight

"Johanna can have the District 3 floor if she wants." The man says nervously, clearly afraid of incurring Johanna's anger again.

I see the look on Johanna's face, and as hard as she's trying to hide it, she doesn't want to be alone here in the darkness. Not in the Capitol.

"She can stay with us." I say.

"There's not enough space in one suite for all 5 of you." The man says.

"Johanna can stay in my room with me." I say.

But everyone knows who I'd really be bunking with,

"No, it's ok. You, Johanna, and Peeta can take the District 3 floor. Effie and I can stay on the District 4 floor." Haymitch says.

"You don't have to do that, Haymitch." Johanna says.

"It's fine. It'll be less crowded that way." He says. I can't help but feel like he's talking about me when he says that.

"Ok, you three, you may stay on the District 3 floor." The man says, and opens the door, and gestures us inside.

"Goodnight." Johanna says curtly, and walks inside. Peeta and I follow her. The attendants bring our suitcases into the suite, and then exit back into the hallway. The door shuts behind us, enveloping us in absolute darkness, and the door locks. I can't make anything else now that my only light source is gone. Somehow, the room is even darker now.

I don't even know where to begin to comprehend today's events when Johanna says, "What the fuck is going on?"

"I don't know." I say weakly.

There are large windows, and slowly my eyes begin to adjust to the darkness. The moonlight provides some light, but not much. Enough that we can prevent ourselves from bumping into each other or stubbing our toes on the furniture. We grab the luggage, I think I have Johanna's, and we roll them over to the sitting area.

Johanna takes a loveseat for herself, and lounges across it. Peeta sits on the edge of a couch, and I lay down on it, resting my head on his lap. He begins to play with my hair.

We just stay like that for a while. It's getting later in the night, but none of us are tired. Peeta still plays with my hair, which is soothing. But even with that, after a while, I still feel like I'm going to explode. Not talking about the situation at all seems worse than talking about it.

"Johanna, do you really not know what's going on?" I almost beg her.

"Why would I know what's going on?" Johanna asks.

"You've been a Victor much longer than we have. You've known people here longer... You know the Capitol." Peeta says.

"Newsflash. I'm not liked here." She replies, "Finnick would have known what was going on. Me, on the other hand, I'm not told things. Not like he was."

I flinch at Finnick's name, and Peeta strokes my hair.

"But you know rumours, right?" Peeta asks.

Johanna gives an audible huff.

"Rumours, yes. But they're nothing but desperate pleas for attention and crackpot theories." Johanna says.

"Please Johanna." I beg.

"Ask Effie. She wouldn't lie to you." Johanna says.

"Uhm, I think if there was something horrible going on, Effie might not have been told." Peeta says, "Even during our first Games, we all had an unspoken agreement to not let Effie know when something bad happened."

"Then ask Haymitch." Johanna says.

"You know just as well as we do that Haymitch is a liar and can't be trusted." I say.

"Then tie him up, take away his liquor, and force him to tell you." She says.

"Not the worst plan." Peeta says.

Then it hits me. It can't be true that Effie doesn't know what's going on. We'd kept what we could from her when she wasn't directly involved, like when Snow wanted me to quell the sparks of rebellion, but we couldn't keep other events from her when she was directly involved, like when I shot at the Gamemakers when presenting my skill to them before my first Games. Whatever's going on now, it's bad enough that Effie's directly involved, and is informed of the specifics.

And that's why Haymitch was so quick to avoid sharing a level with the three of us. He didn't want an interrogation, and to plot with Effie whatever games he has next in store for us without being overheard.

"That son of a bitch." I say, and Johanna and Peeta look at me.

I explain my theory the best I can. But I'm starting to get tired and I'm so angry that I trip over my own words. How I wish I could speak so eloquently as Peeta, who says exactly what he wants to say, and so concisely.

"Sounds plausible. It sounds like something Haymitch would do." Johanna says.

"Yeah, I agree." Peeta says, "But he won't be able to keep this up forever. He'll have to tell us eventually."

"He's going to tell us tomorrow if I have to go up there and burn the door down." I say.

"Spoken like a true Girl on Fire." Johanna says, approving my plan.

I relax a bit. I still don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but having some plan in place is comforting, even if it is going to burn a door down to question an elusive drunkard.

Johanna yawns, "I don't know about you two lovebirds, but I'm getting tired."

"I could sleep." Peeta agrees.

But nobody moves toward the bedrooms. I get the feeling that Johanna doesn't want to sleep alone tonight. I know I wouldn't want to. But she has too much pride to ask, and it would be weird for all three of us if Peeta suggests it, so that leaves me.

"There's a lot of space in this room. We could drag out the mattresses into this room, and sleep here tonight." I suggest.

Johanna takes a few seconds to deliberate.

"Yeah, okay." She agrees.

We all stand up. Johanna pushes the couches to the side of the room so there's more space as Peeta and I walk to the nearest bedroom. The mattress is bare. I go to one side of the bed, while he goes to the other, and I push the mattress forward, as he pulls the mattress, and takes steps backwards. The mattress falls to the ground. I walk over to him and he grabs one side and I grab the other, and we awkwardly half-carry half-drag it into the communal space. We drop it near Johanna, and then go to another bedroom to grab another mattress and repeat the process. When we drop the other mattress close to the first mattress, Johanna is gone. We straighten out the mattresses a bit when Johanna returns with an armful of bedsheets and pillows. She drops the bedsheets and pillows on the beds. Then she goes back and retrieves another armful of blankets.

"I grabbed extra blankets, in case it's cold." She says.

I make our bed. I haphazardly put on the bed sheet, and then put on the pillows at the head of the bed. Then I put on two blankets. I didn't notice before, but it's very cold in here.

Johanna shuffles to make her bed, as Peeta and I get into ours. I automatically crawl into his arms, which he wraps around me. I wonder if I should pull away, but Johanna probably can't see us properly anyway, and doesn't care if she can. I listen to Peeta's heartbeat. Loud and strong and healthy.

"You're disgusting, having sex with me right here. What's wrong with you?" Johanna asks.

"We're not having sex." I say. Peeta's heartbeat has sped up, which makes me feel more self-conscious.

"I don't care if you have sex." Johanna says.

"We're not going to have sex." I say, more convincingly.

"So have you done it yet?" She asks.

"Yes." I say weakly, but my voice cracks, and I don't sound as fierce as I hoped to. But I know Johanna wouldn't believe me, no matter how I replied.

She laughs, "You don't know what you're missing. Goodnight."

I rest my head back on Peeta's chest, who's loosened his grip on me. My face is burning and my heartbeat has increased. I become aware I'm clutching Peeta's shirt as hard as I can. I release my grip, and rest my hand against Peeta's chest. I resist the urge to pull away from Peeta, and he hesitantly wraps his arms back around me. His heartbeat has slowed, but it's still a bit fast.

I look up and kiss his collarbone, and then rest my head back onto his chest, and close my eyes. But I know I won't sleep tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

I spend the night listening to Peeta's heartbeat. It takes him a couple hours, but he manages to fall asleep. Johanna snores quietly in the next bed. I pass the hours watching the door, half expecting an intruder to come through the door and attack us, but nobody comes. Every once in a while, I look outside, and I know time's passed because the moon's moved further across the sky. And eventually, the sun rises, and a new day has begun.

I shake Peeta awake when it's approximately 8 AM. He looks peaceful, but I can't wait anymore. I wonder if I should wake Johanna, but the snoring stops when I whisper Peeta's name, and I know she's awake.

"How did you sleep?" I ask Peeta.

"I slept fine. You didn't sleep at all night last." Peeta says, brushing hair away from my forehead.

"I'm fine." I say.

But when I sit up, I can already feel the effects of no sleep. I'm lightheaded, and my limbs are heavy all over. Peeta holds me steady.

"There, there." He says, and massages the knots from my back.

"Bleh. It's too early for this." Johanna says, and pulls her blankets over her head and curls into the fetal position.

"I'm okay, really." I say. But my voice is so weak and pathetic, I'm not even fooling myself.

I look outside the windows, soaking in the morning light. I can see tall buildings that surround the Training Center. Neither of us have been to the Capitol in years. How has it changed since then? And I have a terrible thought. Peeta didn't show signs of distress last night, but we also couldn't see anything because of the darkness. But now, in the light, how will Peeta react? How will I react?

I don't know the entire map of the Capitol because we were escorted everywhere during our previous trips. In hindsight, I get the feeling the Capitol didn't want me knowing my way around the city. But I know we're near downtown, and a few streets over, we'll be near the place we went had to go underground into the tunnels. A little beyond that is where Boggs died. I pull the blanket over my head. And in the other direction, a few blocks over are the tunnels, is where so many of my squad died, and I almost lost Peeta to Snow again. And suddenly the Capitol feels very small.

"What's wrong?" Peeta asks.

"You know what's wrong." I say, and his arms go around me.

"Katniss, you don't have to worry about me. I'm okay." He says, rubbing my back.

But all I do these days is worry about him.

Johanna groans, and rubs her eyes.

"What time is it?" She asks, but then she remembers where we are and why, "Nevermind. It feels early, anyway. Has Haymitch stopped by?"

"No." Peeta says.

She sits up, and stretches her arms.

"We should get going then. Find breakfast, at least. I'm starved." She says.

But the bed is so warm and comfortable with Peeta. I don't want to leave our room, to find out why we've been brought here. If they're requesting for all the surviving Victors, the Hunger Games are going to be involved in some way.

"Okay, let's go." I agree, and I pull the blanket away from our bodies. My body hair stands on end from the sudden drop in temperature.

I stand up. Looking at the luggage, I was correct last night. I had Johanna's suitcase, not mine. I walk over to my suitcase, and sort through my clothes. I grab a t-shirt and pants, and change clothes where I stand. Naked bodies don't matter anymore, right?

Johanna laughs. I think it might be at me. I ignore her. She goes over to her luggage, and changes where she stands as well. Peeta takes clothes from his suitcase and changes in this room too, but he takes special care not to face Johanna. Although seeing naked bodies hasn't bothered me for years, the thought of seeing Peeta naked makes me uncomfortable. I don't want Johanna to make fun of me for this, so I inconspicuously turn away from Peeta and start searching through my bag for a sweater, but apparently I haven't packed one.

A ball of fabric is thrown at me, and I look up at it. Peeta's packed my favourite sweater.

"Thanks." I mutter, and put it on.

We all head toward the door. Nobody asks, but I have to wonder where we're going to get food. If there's no electricity, how do the Capitol citizens manage to cook food? At least back in 12, people were self-sufficient and made due with fires. Here, people aren't self-sufficient.

"Maybe someone should stay here." Peeta says.

"What?" Johanna and I ask.

"Well, these doors lock automatically, right?" Peeta starts, "If we all went downstairs, and the doors are locked, we won't be able to get back in here because we don't have the key to our room. Then we'll be locked in the stairwell until someone finds us."

"Lover Boy's got a point." Johanna agrees.

I look at Johanna, and then back at Peeta. Which one of us should stay? I trust Johanna, but I don't want to let Peeta out of my sight. Peeta will either have to come down with me in the stairwell, or Johanna will have to go check downstairs alone. Staying here will probably be the safer option of the two.

"Why don't you stay?" Peeta asks Johanna.

"Alright." She says.

I follow Peeta out of the suite and into the stairwell. I look down the hole in the middle of the stairwell, and I can't see anyone. I start going down the stairs, and Peeta follows me.

We reach the next landing, where Enobaria resides. My stomach leaps. I've never felt comfortable around Enobaria. I was 4 when she won her first Games, and I was too young to remember much. But I have vague recollection of nightmares where the monster greatly resembled Enobaria. And I can't shed the memories of watching her ruthlessly kill her opponents in the arena of our second Games. But I don't hear anything coming from the suite, and I don't think she's going to attack us without cause. Still, I pick up the pace a little to pass her landing as soon as possible, making sure Peeta's following me.

The next landing belongs to Beetee. There's no sounds coming from his room either. I ponder briefly if I should at least knock on the door to say hello, but there will probably be time for that later. So I move on.

We walk down the rest of the stairs without speaking. Eventually, I can see the door at the bottom of the stairwell is closed. When I reach the bottom, I turn the knob, but it doesn't open. I shake it, but it doesn't budge.

"Good call on having someone stay up there." I say to Peeta.

He gives a small smile, and we turn around to make our way back up the stairs. But we hear a small creak behind us, and we turn around. The door opens, and a woman in a Capitol uniform is standing there.

I'm not sure what I should say when the smell of bacon and eggs waft into the stairwell.

"Is breakfast ready?" I ask.

The woman only nods, which furthers my suspcisions that the Capitol are still employing Avoxes.

"Ok, we just need to go get Johanna." Peeta says, and he starts making his way back up. I follow him up a few flights, but Johanna's probably propping the door open, waiting for us.

"Johanna!" I shout, which makes Peeta jump because my voice echos up the narrow room.

"Yeah?" She calls back, quieter.

"Breakfast!" I call back.

"Kay."

I hear a door slam, and footsteps start descending the stairwell. Peeta and I wait for her to reach our landing, and then we walk down the final flights together. The woman's still waiting patiently at the bottom, holding the door open.

The Training Center's lights are still off, but it's easy to see because of the giant windows along the walls. The scent of bacon and eggs and hotcakes permeate the room. There's a few long tables with different stations manned by one or two employees. I can see a hotcake station, with a choice selection of toppings. Strawberries, chocolate, jam, different syrups. This table also serves hot grain. There's also an omelet station, with at least a dozen different ingredients to build your own omelet. On another table is various meats. There's an alcohol bar, for Haymitch no doubt. On another table, there's a giant 4 tiered platter of fruits, and various baked goods. Looking at the tables, there's more food here than we'd need. Even with all the Victors, we could probably live off this food for 3-4 days.

"Just like the old days." Johanna says, taking it all in.

Johanna walks over to the omelet station, and starts telling the attendant what she wants. Seeing the employees make me uncomfortable, especially because I don't know whether or not they're Avoxes or trained chefs, so I take a tray from the omelet station, and I walk over to the hot grain. Peeta's follows me with a tray. We both take a bowl of hot grain. I walk over to the meat station, and take bacon and scrambled eggs, while Peeta takes sausage and sunny side up eggs. Then we go over to the fruit tier, and I put a bunch on my plate, and then take a couple baked goods. Peeta does the same, and we sit at an empty table and begin to eat. Eventually, Johanna joins us with two plates of food that's piled high.

"This place doesn't even have power?" I continue to look.

"Backup generator or something." Johanna says, "This place has one. They turned it on to make us food."

"Did you ask someone?" Peeta asks.

"No," Johanna says, "They're Avoxes. But how else would they make this food in such quantity?"

I look around, looking at all of the workers.

"Everyone in this room?" Peeta asks.

"Everyone but us." Johanna says, and takes a bite of toast.

My stomach lurches. I didn't think about what would happen to the Avoxes after the war. I thought maybe they were all executed, like so many Capitol workers. But no, Avoxes were different from the rest. They were punished for crimes against the Capitol. That wouldn't justify a death warrant. Many Avoxes probably took pleasure in seeing so many Capitol citizens executed, as it could been seen as justice for what happened to them. But this new Capitol needs servants, just like the old one did. So Avoxes are still put to use. What else hasn't changed in the Capitol?

I've lost my appetite, and Peeta looks concerned, but I take a bite of hot grain so he doesn't worry. But it tastes heavy in my mouth. Is anything better in the Capitol for anyone? Because from an Avoxes view, it seems like nothing has changed.

There's a loud knock on the door, and the same Avox who got the door for us opens the door. This time it's Effie and Haymitch.

"Beetee requires assistance." Effie says.

The Avox nods, and a few larger male Avoxes go up the stairs. Effies take a tray and they both gather their breakfast. Effie's at the omelet station. Haymitch is at the alcohol bar. I watch Effie order her omelet. She must know that she's being served by Avoxes, yet remains completely unaffected by it, just like always. Avoxes are, after all, criminals. To keep myself from hating Effie, I turn my attention to Haymitch, who stands there, sniffing a bottle before taking a swig. Haymitch comes over, and sits next to Peeta.

I hear a ding and a slide, and I look over at the elevator. An Avox is pushing Beetee in his wheelchair.

"I thought the electricity was out?" Peeta asks.

"There's limited electricity. They use it sparingly." Haymitch says, bored.

I get a good look at Beetee, and then a surge of rage runs through me. I'm startled by the sudden aggression. Why would I react that way to Beetee? I try to think, but the feeling won't go away, and I can't figure it out. I look at Peeta, and he's looking at me concerned, and I look down at my breakfast. I glare at my eggs, as if they could tell me why.

The Avox pushes Beetee to our table. Another Avox comes over and moves a few chairs to make space for Beetee, and Beetee rolls himself closer to the table. The Avoxes leaves as Effie comes to join us and sits next to me.

"Hello Beetee, long time, no see." Peeta says.

We haven't seen Beetee since we lived in District 13. Peeta was hijacked while in 13, so it could be said that Peeta hasn't seen Beetee since the second arena. But Peeta's perfectly pleasant, as if they're old friends.

"Hello Peeta." He says, surprised, and then greets Johanna and me.

"I thought your back was healing?" I ask, working hard to keep my voice light.

"The doctors thought it was, but spinal injuries are unpredictable. Certain injuries don't heal." He says.

An Avox arrives with a plate of food, and sets it in front of Beetee.

"Thank you." He says, and the Avox walks away.

Beetee looks at us.

"The nice thing is we can finally show manners to the Avoxes now." Beetee says.

"It's not mandatory though. Most people don't bother." Effie says, dismissively.

I look down at my breakfast, and hope I don't look too disgusted. We eat in silence.

There's a clank, and I look over at the front door. A man has entered the Training Center. Haymitch looks over as well, and the man gestures Haymitch to come. Haymitch gets up, and walks over to the man. They get close, and exchange a few words quietly, so nobody can overhear. Haymitch doesn't look happy, but he's nodding. Then the man leaves, and Haymitch returns to the table. He takes a swig of his alcohol.

"Who was that?" I ask, as I pick at a croissant.

"It's nothing." Haymitch dismisses.

I examine him carefully, and he stares back, taking another drink. It's clearly not nothing, but he's not giving up any information. Peeta watches him cautiously as well. Haymitch and I could stare down each other forever, and neither of us will cave. So I let it go, for now.

We all eat breakfast in silence. I'm eating my last bites of strawberry as I wonder if I should go up for a second round, when Haymitch speaks up.

"So, today will be a busy day." Haymitch says, "We'll be doing interviews today."

I'm still hungry, so I take Peeta's slice of lemon raspberry loaf.

"Katniss, what did I just say?" Haymitch asks.

"We'll be doing interviews today." I repeat, bored.

He gives me a hard look then continues, "I hate to say it like this, but I don't know how else to say it. We're still performing for the Capitol audience, and their expectations remain the same. So you'll all have to keep up your public personas."

"Isn't that why we had a revolution?" I ask, and take a bite of the loaf.

"Haha, very funny." Haymitch says sarcastically, "Girl, I don't know how you survived this long. Well I guess I do." His eyes cut to Peeta, then back to me. "Katniss, I'm being serious. Today is very important. The interviews must go well."

"Katniss, I know interviews aren't your forte, but just think." Effie says, "You haven't been to the Capitol since the revolution. You have so many fans and admirers. It feels like you fell off the face of the planet, for a lot of people. So many worry about you. Think of today as an opportunity to let them know you're doing well."

I know there's no way of getting out of this.

"Are Peeta and I going to be interviewed together?" I ask.

"Yes." Haymitch says, "The audience will want to see you two together. The star-crossed lovers together at last."

"The star-crossed lovers?! But that's long since passed!" I say.

"Not to the Capitol, sweetheart. You two are to be in love, as much as ever before. Even more so, if possible."

"We're not a couple!" I say.

"Yeah, but for the cameras, you will be." Haymitch motions, and an attendant brings him another bottle, "When you get back to 12, you can do whatever you want. But for now, you're lovers again. No excuses."

"It feels like you're our mentor again, Haymitch." Peeta says grimly.

"It's in all of our best interests if you consider me to be." Haymitch plays with his empty bottle, and then looks at me, "Are you finished eating? Then go back to your room and get ready."

I've lost my appetite. My face is burning as I get up, and I make a beeline for the stairwell. I can hear Peeta following, but I don't slow down. A male Avox opens the stairwell for us, and then accompanies us up the several flights of stairs to our room.

The Avox is slightly out of breath by the time we reach the District 3 floor. He takes out his keys, and opens the door. I enter, Peeta behind me, and then the Avox bows to us and leaves.

"What the hell! What the hell!" I shout.

"I know, Katniss." Peeta agrees.

"No seriously! Why do we still have to do this!" I ask.

"Katniss, it's just a few days. Then we can go back to 12, and we can…" He trails off.

"What? If the Capitol audience wants us to be lovers, then lovers we shall be! This isn't going to be our last visit! We'll have to come back in the future, and they'll expect us to be lovers then too!" I shout.

"We'll deal with that when it comes." He says.

"Don't you see, Peeta?! They're still controlling our lives! This is never going to end!" I shout.

Peeta wraps his arms around me. I'm startled, and then I hug back. I rest my head on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay Katniss." Peeta says.

He kisses the top of my head.

"Now, let's get ready."


	5. Chapter 5

Haymitch had told us to get ready, but there was nothing really to prepare. So we each take a shower, and I put my hair in a bun so it doesn't get wet. I join Peeta on the couch afterward, and I curl up next to him with my legs under me. I rest my head on his shoulder. Now all that's left to do is wait.

"Are you feeling any better?" Peeta asks.

"Yeah." I say.

"Good." He says, and kisses my forehead.

There's a knock on the door. Peeta and I stand up, and take each other's hand as we walk to the door, where the Avox waits in the stairway. We follow him down the stairs, and back to the first floor.

The breakfast table has been emptied, and a small group of people are standing by the the gym doors. I only see Effie. Haymitch, Johanna, and Beetee are gone. There are people I don't recognize. A man is going through papers on a clipboard is tall and thin with a beard that reminds me of ocean currents, and slicked back black hair. He wears a sleek black suit. I can see tattoos popping out from underneath his sleeves. There's also a short blond woman wearing a ruffled white top, and a knee-length ruffled black skirt.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"Katniss, Peeta, this is Link Casterberry, and Heather Crosse. Heather will be interviewing you on your return to the Capitol." Effie says.

"Great." Peeta says half-heartedly.

"Where's everyone else?" I ask.

"In the make up room, where you should be too. Johanna should be about finished by now, so she'll start her interview when she's done. So go in, and remember to smile." Effie gives a smile, and she reminds me a bit of her old self.

The Avox leads Peeta and me into a giant empty room, and through the door into the gym, and then into a short series of side doors, and into a hallway. The Avox puts Peeta and me into separate makeup rooms.

"Surprise!" Flavius and Venia, two out of three of my old prep team, greet me with a smile when I enter. I almost didn't recognize them. Flavius's bright orange hair had been dyed a chestnut brown that suits him nicely. The sides of his head have been buzzed, and the hair on top had been loosely slicked back. He wears a simple black turtleneck and black pants. He's wearing dark eyeshadow and his eyes are outlined with black, reminding me of a racoon. Venia has dyed her hair dark auburn, and has an uneven bob. Although her makeup is not as dramatic as Flavius's, her eyes are outlined with black, and her eyelids ombre from light to dark.

"Hello!" I greet them, excited and surprised and confused.

"We were asked to make you pretty again!" Flavius says, "Come here!"

They pull me into a group hug, and to my surprise, I'm very excited to see them. Then they begin to strip away my clothes, and lead me to a makeshift bathtub filled with some thick blue substance. Venia holds my hand as I get in, and sit.

I barely get out a few words before they chat away, telling me about their lives, as if no time has passed, and as if I don't have a life that can be asked about. I hope they don't ask about my life though. But there is one question I want to ask, and I have to wait until there's a lull to ask.

"Where's Octavia?" I ask, as I get out of the tub, and they hose me down, the water going down a drain near the tub.

They pause for a few seconds, and then resume working.

"Well," Venia starts, "Octavia… she decided she didn't want to be a stylist anymore."

"Really? I thought she loved her job." I say, as Venia gets my hair wet, and Flavius begins to lather it up with shampoo.

"She did, very much. But after… what happened, she was never the same." Venia says.

"What does she do now?" I ask.

"She lives with her parents." Flavius says so quietly, I almost can't hear him, "She has trouble holding down a job. Last I heard, she was a makeup counter girl at a store."

"Sorry to hear that." I say.

"These things happen." Venia dismisses, and she washes the shampoo from my hair. After the shampoo is removed, they remove the excess water from my hair, and then dry my body with the towel.

I'm put into a robe, and taken to sit on a seat. They use their electric hair dryer to dry my hair completely. I can't see myself in the mirror of what they're doing, but I can tell they're taking me to Beauty Base Zero. From there, Flavius does my hair, and Venia does my makeup and nails.

I want to ask why Octavia hasn't been replaced, but I think I know the answer. Because they're a family. And a family member can't be replaced.

I'm helped up, and Flavius rolls a clothing rack with a single bag on it over toward me. He unzips the bag, and removes the outfit from it. It's a backless sparkling red dress with a heart-shaped neckline.

"Is it…?" I choke on the name.

"No." Venia says sadly, "It sure looks like his work, doesn't it?"

Venia removes my robe, and Flavius carefully carries the dress over to me. I put on fresh underwear without help. I raise my arms as Flavius and Venia carefully bring it over my head, and slide it down my body. The material is satiny against my skin. Venia then grabs a shoebox and opens it, and inside is a pair of matching red high heels.

I look in the mirror and examine the dress. Although I don't move, the jewels sparkle in the light. I didn't notice before, but now I see the dress has a slightly orange tint at the bottom which forms an ombre to the red, and the shine accurately mimics fire. My hair is straight, but a potion of it has been put into sophisticated ringlets around my head and a few curls hang loosely at the front, which frame my face nicely. My eyelids are dark and sultry, and up close, gives the impression of smoke. My cheeks have been contoured. As always, my prep team has turned me into a goddess.

"Cinna would be really proud of you." I choke out, but it has to be said.

"He'd be proud of you too." Venia says, but her voice catches, and Flavius is crying, "Come, let's go for your interview."

Effie is waiting outside the room, and she gives me a once over.

"Katniss, you look beautiful." She says.

"Thank you, Effie." I say, nodding my head.

"Come, Peeta is waiting. Your interview is to be held together." She says, but this is old news. Of course our interview is going to be held together.

I wave Venia and Flavius goodbye, and follow Effie down the hallways back near the gym. But she stops at a room near the gym, and knocks on the door before she opens it.

The room is a soft creamy white, and empty except for a comfy red single couch with Heather sitting in it, and a matching love seat. There's a coffee table in front of the loveseat with a clunky looking plastic thing that I have no name for and another silver rectangle that may be a camera. There's also a single rose in a tall clear glass vase, and an unlit red candle with a lighter next to it. The cameramen are standing in the room, working on equipment. One of them is a short middle-aged man with grey hair, and the other young is tall with brown hair.

Peeta sets his eyes on me, and he doesn't take them off. I can feel the burn in my cheeks, and I hope the make up covers it up. I'm thankful that Capitol makeup doesn't smear.

I walk to the couch, and sit close to Peeta, who wraps his arm around my shoulders. The man comes over and picks up one of the plastic contraptions, and looks too clunky for Capitol standard.

"It's a Polaroid. Well, designed to look like one, but drastically more convenient to use." She says, as if that explains anything, "It's from, like, a really long time ago or something. They were all the rage in their time, I think, and they've recently come back in style. We'll need to take pictures of you before the interview, okay?"

Heather picks up the lighter, and lights the candle, then picks up the silver camera, and sits on the couch, holding it. The cameraman walks over to the lightswitch and turns off the light. The cameraman then walks over to us, and takes the clunky thing from the table, then gets on one knee, facing us. He angles the chunk of plastic.

"Say cheese." Heather says.

Peeta naturally smiles, and I try to smile, but my face feels frozen. There's a blinding flash, and I blink a bunch of times.

"Ready for another picture?" Heather asks.

We smile again, but white dots still blind my vision, and my face is more frozen than the first time. There's another blinding flash, and no matter how many times I blink, it refuses to go away.

"One more, I promise." Heather says, "Say cheese."

I don't know what we're going to do for a photo and I want to ask him to wait, when I feel Peeta kiss my cheek, and I can feel the shock on my face.

There's another blinding flash, and then the man sets down the camera again. Heather's chukling.

"That's going to be a cute picture, probably." She says, amused.

"What do you mean 'probably'?" I ask.

"Well, like, with Polaroid, you can't just take pictures, look through them, and delete the bad ones. You can only take one at a time, receive a physical copy, and hope it turns out good." She explains.

This makes less sense to me, but I don't ask any more questions.

"Now guys, I know taking photos is, like, your favourite thing ever, so he'll need to take a few more on a digital camera." She says, as she takes the Polaroid camera from the cameraman and hands him the silver camera, "This isn't an official photoshoot or anything. This is just for promo purposes. You know what I mean."

Actually I don't, because nobody ever told me anything, and I never bothered to learn about how media in the Capitol works. But I humour her, trying to smile when the photos are being taken.

After a few are taken, Heather turns on the light, which blinds me further after being in the dark, and the cameraman takes more photos. It feels like forever has passed when he finally stops. Heather takes the camera from the man, and she scrolls through the photos.

"These are, uhm, great." She says, "Wow Peeta, you did a spectacular job. So… did you, Katniss."

No, Katniss didn't do a spectacular job. Everyone knows that. But Heather puts the camera back on the table, and sits on the chair, and gets comfy. The cameramen come over to Peeta and me, and attach tiny microphones to our outfits.

Heather looks at the cameramen, who are waiting for direction.

"We're ready." She says.

The younger cameraman motions a countdown from 5, and Heather puts on a giant smile, as she turns her attention to one of the cameras.

"Hello, Panem, and welcome to Heather's Hearth. Today, I have two very special guests with me, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!" She turns to face us, "All of Panem is dying to know updates about you two! How is life for the two of you back in District 12?"

"Life in 12 is great," Peeta says, "Katniss and I are married, and have been for quite some time now, so my life has been perfect."

"Married! My word! Katniss, how did you ever get your mother to agree to this?!" Heather asks.

I can feel my face burn, and although Haymitch isn't in the room, I know he's watching this from somewhere, and I can feel his eyes burning into me, "I'm older now, and she knew how much I love Peeta. She couldn't bear to keep us apart, knowing how much we love each other."

Peeta kisses the top of my head, and Heather sighs, elated in our joy, and I know I've said the right thing.

"If I remember right, you considered yourself married before the Quarter Quell because you did some old District 12 tradition right? Toasting bread over a fire together?" Heather asks.

"That's correct. Nobody in District 12 really feels married until they do the toasting of the bread, but it isn't legally binding. We wanted to make it official, so everyone would know our love is eternal." Peeta says.

"I'm so happy for you two! I wish you all the happiness marriage has to offer!" Heather says.

"Thank you." Peeta and I say.

Heather leans forward, eager and curious, "Now tell me. How does it feel being back in the Capitol?"

Heather says this as if we should be excited to be back in the Capitol. As if this wasn't a war zone. As if Peeta wasn't held prisoner and tortured for weeks, and I wasn't a targeted Rebel with a bounty on my head. I feel Peeta stiffen next to me, although he hides his anxiety well. I'll have to be the one to answer this question.

"We love it here." I say, trying to sound upbeat, but my words sounds hollow, "The Capitol has always been so good to us, and it continues to be. It feels like we've never left."

My voice cracks at the end. Because it really does feel like we've never left. Just not in the way Heather imagines.

Heather smiles, "The Capitol adores you so, so much! I hope there's less of a gap between your next visit!"

"We hope so, too." Peeta has recovered, "We love the Capitol, just as it loves us."

Heather turns back to the camera, "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, oh, excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Peeta Mellark-" she pauses to giggle, "but there will be more interviews sure to come. Stay tuned for the next segment of Heather's Hearth."

The cameraman calls cut, and there's a bell.

"Good job you two." Heather says, "I hope you, like, enjoy the Capitol."

"Thank you, we will." Peeta says.

Effie's appeared at the door, and is waiting for us.

"Come on, you two." She says, and starts to walk.

She takes us back to the District 3 level, where fresh clothes are laid out for us.

"After you've cleaned up and get dressed, come down for lunch." She says, and leaves us alone.

I take a shower first. The water's too hot, there's too many bubbles, and the scent is overwhelming, but I don't care. I scrub the makeup away from my face, and wash my hair. I get out of the shower, and dry myself off with a towel. There's a set of fresh clothes folded on the counter for Peeta and me. I was given tan pants and a green t-shirt. They remind me of the clothes from my first arena. Looking at Peeta's pile of clothes, he was given the same outfit. I put them on, and braid my hair back wet.

I look in the mirror, and immediately shudder. They were the same clothes from our first arena. But we had nothing else to wear, so I tried to just bear it. I enter the living room. Peeta sees me, and stops frozen as he takes in my appearance. Then he recovers, and goes to shower without a he comes back, he's wearing the same outfit, and he sits next to me, wrapping his arm around me, but his pose is too tense to be casual.

"The Capitol acts like there wasn't a revolution at all." I say.

"It sure looks that way, doesn't it?" Peeta agrees.

"I don't understand why they're doing televised interviews if there's no electricity. People won't be able to watch it." I say.

"My guess it's like how 12 used to be." Peeta says, "Remember how we almost never had electricity, but then it always turned on for the games and for important announcement? They're controlling it."

"I guess that makes sense." I agree, "Let's go get lunch."

Peeta and I go down the stairs, and we knock on the door. An Avox lets us in. There's an assortment of pasta dishes on one table, and various meats on another. There's also a salad bar, and a table of pastry and baked goods. I take a pasta dish and a plate of beef and veggies. Peeta does the same.

Haymitch, Beetee, and Effie, and Johanna are sitting at a table together. Everyone's wearing fresh clothes, but none of them match what Peeta and I are wearing. I know they're all observing our clothes, recognizing them like we did, but I ignore this. We join them at their table.

"Your interview was good, all things considered." Haymitch says.

"Thanks." I say half-heartedly.

The atmosphere at the table is thick and downtrodden. Everyone else looks stressed. I regret coming down for lunch. I have my own emotions to deal with, let alone everyone else's. I want to ask Haymitch why we're here, but nobody seems to be in a chatty mood.

"Haymitch, why are we here?" Peeta asks.

Haymitch gives him a hard look.

"Just tell them." Johanna says listlessly, playing with her food.

"We're not doing them any favours by trying to hide the truth. They're going to find out anyway. It's better that they know." Beetee chimes in.

"Tell us." I push, and he looks at me, unhappy.

"The Games aren't over." Haymitch says gruffly..

"What does that mean, Haymitch?" I ask.

"Well," Haymitch leans back in his chair casually, "There are things you don't know about the Capitol."

"Then tell us." I demand.

"There's another set of Games that were held, apart from the Hunger Games. It's called the Interim Games." Haymitch explains, "It was held every three to five to deflect attention, but it was the worst kept secret from the Capitol. It's being held this year."

"When you say another set of Games…" Peeta trails off.

"It's basically another Hunger Games held in winter, a secret one that is not televised, except for those who have access to it." Haymitch says.

"Where would they get the Tributes from?" I ask, a sinking feeling in my stomach, abandoning my meal for good.

Was it possible they used Capitol children? Stole them away in the night for their twisted Interim Games? Did they take children away to punish their parents, and then force them to watch their children die?

"They took Tributes from the Districts, of course. Where else would they get them?" Haymitch says.

"That doesn't make sense, Haymitch. How could they take District children without anyone noticing?" Peeta asks.

"There's hundreds of vulnerable children within the Districts." Beetee speaks up, "Think about District 12. Parents died all the time, correct? What happened to the children?"

"They went to the group home." I say.

"And what were the conditions like?" He asks.

"There was never enough food, so many starved." I say.

"Starvation. Disease. The ones who mysteriously disappeared, and nobody questioned it, because they were assumed dead. It was very easy for the Capitol to take children away undetected." Beetee explains, "Trains come and go through the different Districts to export goods to the Capitol. Children could easily be put onto the train without anyone noticing."

Bile rises up my throat. It was bad enough when my Reaping was publicly televised. But everyone knew what happened to me, where I was going. What about those children, who disappeared one day, and nobody thought twice about it? Just suddenly taken to the Capitol, with no goodbyes or loved ones to worry. Knowing you'd never return. That you'd fight to death with nobody to mourn you. That's worse than the Hunger Games.

"How did they decide who went?" Peeta asks.

"They didn't have an official Reaping, like the Hunger Games." Haymitch explains, "I don't know the specifics. I think they arranged the delivery with the owner of the group homes, and took whatever kid they were given."

"So problem children were easily disposed of." I say.

I look over at Peeta. I can't identify the emotion on his face. Fear, anger, contempt, disbelief, pain beyond despair. I go to take his hand, but my hands are clenched into fists. I force mine open, and I rest mine on his. He jumps, but then sees it's me, and he takes my hand. His grip hurts, but I don't say anything.

"Why are we here, Haymitch?" Peeta asks.

"That's an interesting question." Haymitch says, and opens another bottle.

"Why are we here, Haymitch?" I repeat firmly, "And don't you dare lie to us."

Haymitch chugs a few mouthfuls of beer before he answers.

"We're here to be mentors."


End file.
